The biggest recruit of the Mark Dantonio era is also arguably the biggest recruit since Charles Rogers selected Michigan State a decade ago. Gholston made an early commitment to Michigan State and stayed firm despite a host of suitors from coast to coast.

The Alabama Crimson Tide sent former Spartan Head Coach Bobby Williams up to Detroit to secure a visit to Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban was not happy when he couldn't get the physical-freak to budge from his Spartan verbal.The rumors about Gholston's commitment were often rampant and they all ended up lacking any substance. SpartanMag.com was the one place where Michigan State fans could rely on the most accurate information on the 5-star recruit.

OL Skyler Schofner of Big Walnut High School, Ohio/B>

MSU OVER: MichiganSchofner was a prospect t that Spartsnmag.com was high on from the moment we first saw him in action at the U.S. Army All-American Combine. His stock first exploded last spring when the May evaluation period hit. By the summer time he had over 20 offers.After he committed to Michigan State his stock exploded again when he participated in two post-season All-American games. About this time, many UM media sources started leaking information that a Spartan OL verbal commitment from Ohio was not solid.In the end, Michigan's advances were too little too late and the massive 6-foot-8, 305-pound Schofner will bring his talent to East Lansing and play in a pro-style offense, not a spread.

S Isaiah Lewis of Ben Davis High School, Indiana

MSU OVER: Kentucky and most of Big Ten

Lewis' recruitment may not have received as much fan-fare as some others, but his commitments to Michigan State was a big visitor. In the end Lewis selected the Spartans over the Wildcats, but pretty much everyone in the Big Ten had offered. Lewis had some strong connections with the UK program, but decided the Big Ten was where he wanted to be.Ohio State sources were very surprised when Lewis was not offered by the Buckeyes after their camp. The word was that he was one of the top overall performers there and put on a display that normally would garner a Buckeye offer. However, the Buckeyes were holding out for the Glenville duo of Christian Bryant and Latwan Anderson. If Anderson doesn't end up in Columbus and Lewis ends up blowing up Buckeye receivers, somebody will be kicking themselves.

LB Max Bullough of Traverse City Saint Francis

MSU OVER: Notre Dame, Iowa and UCLA

Bullough selected Michigan State so early that it is easy to forget just how big a commitment he was for the Spartans. Bullough's early offers were as impressive as any player in the nation. All of the schools he seriously considered had a lot of positives going for them.UCLA is where his uncle Coaches and he would have loved to have gotten Max out to the PAC 10. Bullough's family ties to Notre Dame are almost as long and prestigious his Spartan ones. Iowa has former Spartan Phil Parker on staff and he played with Max's father back in the Rose Bowl.Despite those other connections, Bullough indicated that he could never see himself playing college football anywhere else. The idea of him running out of the tunnel in college in anything but a Spartan uniform almost seems like Sacrilege.

DE Marcus Rush of Cincinnati Moeller High School, Ohio

MSU OVER: Michigan, Virginia and Boston CollegeRush's recruitment is one of those famous spilt milk type of scenarios. Michigan sources have indicated that the Wolverines did not have enough room for him once they added another player. That claim seems odd due to the fact that they were still after DE's up until January.Needless to say, when Rush finally was able to step on campus as Michigan State he was won over by the school and the coaches. He held firm to his commitment despite several teams trying to get him to flip right up until January. A huge senior season on served to improve his recruiting stock

Brian Kelly could not get Rush to Cincinnati, but he figured getting him to South Bend was a possibility. Rush said thanks, but no thanks when the Irish came and enquired if he would be interested in Notre Dame in January.

With the ink now dry on the Michigan State Class of 2010, SpartanMag.com looks at what recruiting battles were the most contested for Coach Dantonio and his staff. These 5 recruiting victories were critical for making the class of 2010 one of the best in the Big Ten. See the list.